During 2016 we spoke to you several times about the Finnish Nokia. The company, which had gone through a complex stage in recent years, seemed willing to put everything that had happened in the past behind us and to see 2017 mark a turning point in the history of the brand. As we have mentioned on other occasions, the consumer electronics sector is very similar to a roller coaster and the models or companies that one day are at the top, the next day can fall and be on the brink of disappearance. The high speed at which all changes occur and that defines the world of technology, in many cases, is also a determining factor.
We all know that saying that says "New year, new life" and today, we will talk about Nokia but not focusing on the devices it could present, but rather, on the challenges which it will have to face in 2017 in a context in which, despite the passing of time, we still find, and perhaps more strongly than ever, great competition between the different actors. Can we talk a year from now that the Espoo-based technology company has managed to regain the favor of users, or will we be facing a new dark chapter in the trajectory of large companies that once made history?
1. Asian rivals
We started, how could it be less, with the challenge that may be more complicated to solve but not only for Nokia, but by most European and American companies. As we all know, Japan and South Korea are still benchmarks and the position of some companies in both countries is unquestionable, but there is still more: Chinese push, which in recent years, has strongly shaken both the field of tablets and smartphones and of which we all know the strategies used by the brands of the country of the Great Wall. Will Nokia help to position Europe more strongly on the world technology map?
2. Delete the link with Microsoft
La lumia series it did not live up to the expectations that both Redmond and Espoo had placed on her. A smaller number of units sold than expected not only had an impact on the financial results of both companies, but was also interpreted by many as an error from which the two technology companies would take time to recover. The decisions from the headquarters of both companies were immediate: At the end of 2016, any device belonging to this family of smartphones was officially discontinued.. From Microsoft they assured that efforts from now on would focus on Surface Phone. On the other hand, this helped Nokia to launch itself again to the creation of new models on its own.
3. The tablet market
2017 seems to be, for many experts, the year in which the last 2 years in which the sales numbers of tablets they have fallen little by little. The appearance of new formats and the rise of convertibles could be the causes of this change in trend. However, the saturation of the sector continues to be present and for the Finnish company, which had good results in markets such as China with terminals such as the N1, launched in 2015, this could be one more hurdle. To try to cope with this, the company would prepare a new device called D1C, which was already seen in October and which would be characterized by its large size, and the fact that it was accompanied not by Windows, but by the last member of the Android family.
4. Competitiveness and adaptation
Fourth, we find an element in which the public has a leading role. Although we have all heard of Nokia and in its day, many users owned one of the models manufactured by the company, the truth is that the own rhythm so frantic of market and the constant appearance of new devices, allows consumers to focus their attention on other tablets and smartphones that manage to adapt to the needs of more diversified groups, forgetting about firms that were the most popular in their day. Despite the fact that in 2017 the launch of at least 4 smartphones from Finnish lands is expected, will this be enough to attract an audience that demands high performance at a more affordable cost?
As you have seen, Nokia has some challenges along the way that will take time to resolve but that, however, does not mean that they are impossible to overcome. Do you think that the company will be able to succeed in all of them and become once again a benchmark? Do you think that in the current situation in which we find hundreds of brands, a lasting consolidation is something difficult to achieve for all manufacturers? You have more related information available, such as, for example, what has already been revealed about one of the phablets that could be one of the jewels in the crown of technology, called P1, so that you can give your own opinion.